Sigismondo Malatesta Before Saint Sigismund

work by Piero della Francesca

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July 13, 2026

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The fresco "Sigismondo Malatesta Before Saint Sigismund" was painted by Piero della Francesca around 1451 in the Tempio Malatestiano in Rimini, Italy. The work depicts Sigismondo Pandolfo Malatesta, a ruler and mercenary captain often seen as a model Renaissance prince, kneeling before his patron saint, Saint Sigismund. Malatesta was a significant figure in 15th-century Italy, known for his patronage of the arts and his military prowess, though he also gained a reputation for brutality. The Tempio Malatestiano itself, originally the Church of San Francesco, was converted into a family chapel and mausoleum for the Malatesta family under Sigismondo's patronage, with architectural plans by Leon Battista Alberti.1234

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Piero della Francesca
Formative period
…heraldic emblem in design) of Sigismondo Malatesta Before St. Sigismund in the Tempio Malatestiano, a memorial church built according to the architectural designs of Alberti. Also to this early formative period before 1451 belongs The Baptism of Christ. This painting, probably the central panel for an altarpiece for the Pieve…
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…heraldic emblem in design) of Sigismondo Malatesta Before St. Sigismund in the Tempio Malatestiano, a memorial church built according to the architectural designs of Alberti. Also to this early formative period before 1451 belongs The Baptism of Christ. This painting, probably the central panel for an altarpiece for the Pieve…
Read More